Mail-pouch-delivering apparatus.



PATENTED APR. 28, 1908.

G. A. WILLIS. v MAIL POUCH DELIVERING APPARATUS.

APPLIGATION PI LED NOV. 16, 1907.

2 SHEETS-$3312! 1.

8 0 9 om 2 P A D M 4 3 6 8 8 m N APPLICATION FILED NOV. 16, 1907.- I

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

mewfaz f C /ZZI'Ze/PVZ. Willy;

vwam UNITE srrns raanr CHARLES A. WILLIS, OF WASHINGTON,

TWICE.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH TO CHARLES F. CREAGER, OFWASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, AND ONE-FOURTH TO ABRAM B. APPLER, OFALBANY, NEW

YORK.

MAIL-POUCH-DELIVERING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 28, 1908.

Application filed November 16, 1907. Serial N 0. 402,469.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, Cinemas A. I/VrLLIs, a citizen of the United Statesof America, residing at I/Vashington, in the District of Columbia,United States of America, have invented certain new and useful Improve-'ments in Mail-Poucl1-Delivering Apparatus, of which the following is aspecification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to mail pouch delivering apparatus, and theobject of the invention is to provide an apparatus ,of this class forautomatically delivering mail matter contained in pouches, sacks, orpackages from postal cars while the latter are in motion, and to deliversuch pouch, sack, or package at the proper moment, and at the desiredpoint, and to effect the delivery of such pouch, sack, or package withsufficient force to insure its safe deposit into a receptacle or anyother suitable receiving means located at a safe distance from therailway track, and to prevent such pouch, sack, or package 5 whendelivered, from being drawn under the wheels of the car or train by thesuction which is ordinarily created by a rapidly moving train.

A further object of the present invention is to provide means inconnection with a mail pouch delivering apparatus whereby the deliveryof the pouch, sack, or package from the holder thereof may beaccelerated so as to insure its proper and desired delivery.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a type ofapparatus which can be readily and quickly mounted within the car so asto deliver mail at either side of the car as may be desired.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a deliverydevice so mounted within the car as to be readily removed if desired andthus be entirely out of the way of the free use of the car doorways, topermit the use of the car without the attachment thereto of thedelivering device, if so desired.

Although the device forming the subject matter of the invention to behereinafter described in detail, is primarily adapted to be used for theautomatic delivery of mail from a postal car, I would have it understoodthat the device involved is adapted for use for all purposes wherein itmay be found applicable.

The invention resides in the novel construction, combination, andarrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described andthen particularly claimed.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to theaccompanying drawings forming a part of this application, and wherein isshown a practical and preferred form or embodiment of my invention,though I would have it understood that various changes and modificationscan be resorted to without departing from the letter or spirit of theinvention.

In the drawings 1-Figure 1 is a View in elevation, showing the deviceapplied to a postal car, the latter being partly broken away,

' this view also showing the device located on the track by means ofwhich the operating mechanism of the device is actuated. Fig. 2 is atransverse vertical sectional view of a part of a car, showing thedevice applied thereto, the support for the mail pouch being inlongitudinal section. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of the mailpouch support detached. Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the mail pouchsupport showing in full lines the normal or inactive position of themail pouch accelerator and in dotted lines the position of saidaccelerator when the mail pouch or sack has been delivered. Fig. 5 is atransverse vertical sectional view of the mail pouch or sack support,and Fig. 6 is a detached detail perspective view of the accelerator.

Describing the drawings in detail, 1 denotes the postal car on the floor2 of which,

within the car, the mail bag or pouch support is mounted, preferably asheretofore stated, being removably-mounted, in order that it can bechanged from one side of the car to the other or removed entirely at anytime desired.

As herein shown, there is provided in the floor of the car sockets 3, ofa number e ual in number to the number of supporting egs 4 employed forsupporting the mail bag or pouch support 5 at the desired inclination inthe car. The legs 4 are preferably provided adjacent their lower endswith integral collars or annular flanges 6, which, in practice, rest onthe top plates of the sockets 3 as clearly seen in Figs. 1 and 2 of thedrawings. It will be understood that in practice, sockets 3 are providedadjacent each doorway of tom 7 of the pouch support.

form, and is supported by the legs 4 at an angle of approximately 45directly in front of the car door. The side walls of this support neednot necessarily be of greater height than is required for simplyretaining the mail bag or pouch in the support until such time as themechanism is operatedto deliver the same. The bottom 7 of said supportis provided with a longitudinallyextending slot 8, which extends from apoint near the upper end of said support to a point adjacent the lowerend thereof in order to give a sufficient range of movement for theoperation of an adjustable accelerator to be hereinafter more fullydescribed.

Secured to the underneath face of the bottom 7 of the pouch support 5 isone or more keepers 9 in which is arranged for sliding movement anactuating-bar 1O lying directly underneath the longitudinal slot 8 inthe bot- This actuating-bar 10 besides carrying the accelerating meansfor imparting the desired impetus of force to the mail bag as it isdischarged, also acts in its operation to open the hinged doors carriedby said support, and which normally retain the bag or pouch in thesupport. The said actuating-bar in the present instance is shown asbeing substantially T-shape in cross section, the keepers 9, of coursebeing grooved to correspond to the cross sectional shape of said bar.Adjustablyanounted on this bar 10 so as to move therewith when the baris moved, is a pouch or bag accelerator herein shown as comprising akeeper 11 mounted for sliding movement on the bar 10 and provided withan upright post or standard 12 which carries a bag engaging plate 14.The post or standard 12 is provided with lugs 15 and in these lugs ispivotally-mounted a pawl 16 normally held in engagement with teeth 17 onthe u per face of the bar 10 by a spring 18 securec to the post orstandard 12 and bearing a ainst the pawl 16. It is preferable that a sight curvature be given to the plate 14 as herein shown, though this isnot essential to the successful operation of the device. The teeth 17 onthe actuating-bar 10 extend throughout a sufficient part of the bar togive a considerable range of adjustment to the accelerator, as clearlyshown in Fig. 4 of the drawings. The purpose of having this acceleratoradjustable is that it may be moved towards or away from the dischargeend of the mail bag or pouch support and thus be placed in engagementwith the upper end of such mail bag or pouch, irrespective of the sizethereof. At its lower or forward end, the said actuating-bar 10 isprovided with laterally-extending arms 19, to the outer ends of whichare pivotally-secured the inner ends of links 20 the outer ends of theselinks being pivoted to the free ends of levers 20, connected at theirouter ends with pintles 21 which carry the doors 22 constituting themeans which holds the mail bag or pouch normally within its support.These doors 22 as shown in the present illustration, may be, andpreferably are compara tively short in length, all that is requiredbeing that they form a support for the lower end of the mail bag orpouch. By making the doors comparatively short, a shorter radius ofswing is required for the outer ends of these doors than would benecessary if the doors were of a length so that their ends would meet onthe central longitudinal line of the support. Thus, the doors are morequickly moved out of the way of the mail bag or pouch being discharged,and any danger of the doors offering any obstruction to the freedischarge of the mail bag or pouch is obviated. These doors may behinged to the support in any desirable manner, a practical embodimentbeing herein shown, in which the sides of the support 5 are providedwith straps 23 apertured to receive the pintles 21, which pintles alsoengage in the eyes 24 carried by the doors, the lower ends of thepintles 21 being extended down below the bottom 7 of the support 5 inorder to permit connecting the levers 20 with the ends of said pintles.

The actuating-bar 10 is provided on its underneath face, intermediatethe ends thereof with a depending slotted lug 25 of a length suflicientto permit considerable range of movement being imparted to the bar 10,without disengaging a pin 26 from the slot in said lug 25. This pin 26is carried in the upper end of the longer arm 27 by a' bellcrankpivotally-mounted as at 28 in a socket bearing 29. This bearing 29 ispreferably socketed in the car floor 2, so as to be bodily removabletherefrom along with the pouch support and the bell-crank, thusobviating the necessity of removing pivot pin 28. T o the shorter arm 30of said bell-crank is pivotally-connected the upper end of a rod 31 eX-tending through an opening 32 in the car floor 2. The said opening 32 isof sufficient size to permit the required lateral movement which must behad by the rod 31 when it is actuated. The lower end of said rod 31 ispivotally-connected to the inner end of a lever 33 pivotally-suspendedfrom a bracket or support 34 attached to the car floor 2. The outer endof said lever 33 is provided with a slot 35 to receive a pin 36 carriedin the up per end of a vertically-extending trip bar 37. This trip bar37 is suspended from the bottom of the car through the medium ofcombined hangers and brace members 38 having guides 89 for said tripbar, the latter being provided on its lower end with a roller 40 adaptedto ride over the inclined track 41, which, with the arrangement of thedevice herein shown, is positioried'on the track ties 42, outside therails 43.

It will of course be understood that the inclined track 41 may bepositioned at any de sired point in the track or outside thereof, theactuating mechanism being arranged to accord with the position in whichthe inclined track 41 is placed.

In practice, the mail bag or pouch is placed in the support 5, and theaccelerator is adjusted on the actuating bar.10, so that the plate 14will rest against the upper end of the bag or pouch. WVhen the carreaches the point where the inclined track 41 is placed, which ispresumably at a station where it is desired to deliver mail from .thecar, the roller 40 will ride up the inclined face of the track 41, andby reason of the trip bar 37, being elevated, will impart movement tothe actuating-bar 10 through the connections 33, 31, 30 and 27heretofore described, moving the bar 10 forwardly and causing said barthrough its connections by means of links 20 and levers 20 to rotatepintles 21 and thereby swing open the doors 22 which have retained themail bag or pouch within the support 5. The said bar 10 in operation hasa comparatively rapid movement, and owing to the plate 14 of theaccelerator having been adjusted into position against the upper end ofthe mail bag or pouch, the latter in its movement from the support ismaterially ace celerated, or in other words, sufficient force or impetusis im arted to the bag or pouch to insure the de ivery thereof into areceptacle suitably placed to receive the same.

In order to insure the return of the doors 22 to their closed positionafter the mail bag or pouch has been delivered, I preferably provideauxiliary means herein shown as embodying a leaf spring 44 attached tothe underneath face of the car floor and having its outer end connectedby a link or other loose connection 45 with the lever 33 as clearlyshown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The resistance offered by this springto the operation of the parts when the roller 40 engages the inclinedtrack 41 is comparatively slight whereas the pull of the spring on thelonger end of the lever 33 will materially assist the parts in returningto their normal position after each actuation thereof.

It is to be observed that the pouch support is so arranged as to permitof the mail pouch being automatically delivered therefrom as soon as thedoors 22 are actuated so as to be swung out of the way of the pouch.That is, as soon as the doors 22 are actuated, the pouch is free togravitate from the inclined support, and, owing to the fact that thedoors 22 when in the closed position, constitute the means for retainingthe mail pouch within the inclined pouch support, it will be evidentthat as soon as the doors 22 swing open, the pouch is free to drop fromthe support without the necessity of employing ejecting means fordischarging the pouch from the support. Under ordinary conditions, thatis, with railway trains traveling at a moderate rate of speed, the pouchwould be thus automatically delivered from the support at the properpoint, and, due to the fact that it gathers considerable momentum justafter being released owing to the inclination at which it was supported,will be delivered a sufficient distance away from the train to assureits safety. However, it is a desideratum with devices of this nature toassure their adaptability and. use on all railway mail trains, and oneof the serious obstacles heretofore encountered has been to provide adevice which could be used on high speed railway mail trains to deliverthe pouch in such a manner as to insure against danger of the pouch,after discharge from the car, being drawn under the wheels of the trainby the suction created by such rapidly moving train. The loss of mailmatter due to this cause alone has heretofore been a great inconvenienceto the Government and the ublic, and has been as well, a great financialoss to the railroads acting as the carriers. In order, therefore, thatthe device shown and described may be applicable for use 011 railwaymail trains operated at high rates of speed, it is preferable to impartan accelerating movement to the pouch at the very moment that it is freeto automatically discharge itself, and for this reason, I employ theaccelerator 14 on the actuating bar 10. This accelerator having beenadjusted on the bar 10 so that it will rest against the upper end of thepouch in the pouch support, it will be evident that simu taneously withthe o ening of the doors 22, due to the actuation o the bar 10, theaccelerator will act against the pouch so as to accelerate the dischargemovement of the latter and insure the ouch being projected from the carwith suf cient force to deliver the pouch at a point out oftrain-created suction.

With the arrangement and construction shown, it will be observed thatthe device can be readily shifted so as to be operated to discharge themail bag or pouch from either side of the car, and to so change thedevice from one side of the car to the other, it is only necessary toremove the pin or bolt which connects the upper end of rod 31 to rangeof any the arm 30 all of the mechanism above the car floor may then beshifted to the other side of the car, it being understood that socketsare provided in front of both of the car doorways. The mechanismunderneath the car can also be shifted to the other side thereof, or thetwo sets of mechanism may be provided underneath the car, as may bedesired.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A mail pouch delivering apparatus, comprising a stationary pouchsupport mounted above the floor of a car at an inclination thereto,swinging doors carried by said support and constituting means to renation thereto, movable-means carried by said support and actingnormally to retain the pouch within the support, and means forautomatically a'ctuatingsaid movable-means to permit the delivery of thepouch from the support.

3. A mail pouch delivering apparatus, comprising a pouch supportremovablymounted in the floor of a car and remaining stationary duringthe delivery of the pouch therefrom, movable-means carried by saidsupport and acting normally to retain the pouch in the support, andmeans for automatically operating said movable-means to permit thedelivery of the pouch from the support 4. A mail pouch deliveringapparatus, comprising a stationary pouch support mounted within a carabove the floor thereof and at an inclination to said floor,movablemeans carried by the lower end of said support acting to normallyretain the pouch within the support, and means for automaticallyactuating said movable-means to permit the delivery of the pouch fromthe support.

5. A mail pouch delivering apparatus, comprising a stationary pouchsupport mounted within a car above the floor thereof and at aninclination to said floor, movablemeans carried by the lower end of thesupport acting to normally retain the pouch within the support, meansfor automatically operating said movable-means to permit the delivery ofthe pouch from the support, and

means for accelerating the movement of the pouch during its'delivery.

6. A mail pouch delivering apparatus, comprising a removably mountedstationary pouch support arranged within a car at an incline to thefloor thereof, movable means at the lower end of the support acting tonormally retain the pouch within said sup port, and means forautomatically operating said movable-means to permit the delivery of thepouch.

7. A mail pouch delivering apparatus, comprising a stationary pouchsupport arranged within a car above the floor thereof and at aninclination to said floor, swingingdoors carried by said support at thelower end thereof for retaining the pouch within the support, anactuating-bar connected to said doors, and means forautomaticallyoperating the bar to open the doors and permit the discharge of thepouch from said suport. p 8. A mail pouch delivering apparatus,comprising a stationary pouch support arranged within a car at aninclination to the floor thereof, swinging-doors carried by said supportat the lower end thereof for retaining the pouch Within the support, anactuating-bar connected to said doors, means for automatically operatingthe bar to open the doors and permit the discharge of the pouch fromsaid support, and means carried by said bar for. accelerating themovement of the pouch during its discharge from the support.

9. A mail pouch delivering apparatus, comprising a stationary pouchsupport ar ranged within a car above the floor thereof and at aninclination to said floor, a swingingdoor carried by said pouch supportat the lower end thereof for retaining the pouch within the support, anactuating-bar connected to said door, and means for automaticallyoperating the bar to open the door and permit the discharge of the pouchfrom said support.

10. A mail pouch delivering apparatus, comprising a stationary pouchsupport arranged within a car at an inclination to the floor thereof, aswinging-door carried by said pouch support at the lower end thereof fornormally retaining the pouch within the support, an actuating-barconnected to said door, means for automatically actuating the bar toopen the door and permit the discharge of the pouch from said support,and means carried by said bar for imparting impetus to the movement ofthe pouch as it is being discharged.

11. In a mail pouch delivering apparatus, a stationary pouch supportarranged Within a car at an incline to the horizontal, movable meanscarried by the lower end of the support for normally retaining the pouchwithin the support, means embodying an actuating-bar for automaticallyoperating said movable-means to permit the discharge of the pouch fromsaid inclined support, and means carried. by said. actuating-bar forimparting impetus to the pouch during the dis charge thereof.

12. In a mail pouch delivering apparatus, an inclined pouch supportarranged wholly within the car, said support being mounted on andsupported above the floor of the car in which the support is arranged,as and for the purpose described.

13. In a mail bag delivering apparatus, the combination with an inclinedpouch support, of a movable-rest for normally retaining the pouch in thesupport, an actuatingbar-connected to said movable rest, meanspositioned below the floor of the car in which the support is mountedfor operating said bar to actuate the movable-rest and permit thedischarge of the pouch from its support, and means carried by the bar toaccelerate the movement of the bag during its discharge.

14. In a mail-pouch delivering apparatus, the combination with astationary pouchsupport, of a movable-rest for normally retalning thepouch in the support, an actuating member connected to saidmovable-rest, means for actuating said member to operate themovable-rest and permit the discharge of the pouch from said support,and means adjustably-mounted on said member for accelerating themovement of the pouch during its discharge.

15. In a mail pouch delivering apparatus, an inclined stationarypouch-support removably mounted within a car, and movable means at thelower end of said support acting to normally retain the pouch within thesuport. p 16. A mail pouch delivering apparatus comprising a stationarypouch support, an ejector within the pouch support, and means foractuating said ejector, the said ejector being adjustable towards eachend of the support independently of the actuating means and positivelyheld in its adjusted position.

17. In a mail pouch delivering apparatus, a stationary pouch supportprovided with a slot in the bottom thereof, a slidable bar arrangedunderneath said slot, means connected with said bar for operating thesame, an ejector carried by the bar, the ejector being adjustable on thebar, and means for securing the ejector in adjusted position.

18. A mail pouch delivering apparatus, comprising an inclined pouchsupport, movable-means connected to the lower end of said support fornormally retaining a mail pouch therein, an accelerator within the support for accelerating the discharge movement of the pouch, connectionsbetween said accelerator and the movable-means whereby the latter isoperated simultaneously with the actuation of the accelerator, and meansfor operating said accelerator.

19. A mail pouch delivering apparatus, comprising an inclined pouchsupport, a swinging door carried by said support at its lower end, anaccelerator within the support accelerating the discharge movement ofthe pouch from the support, connections between the accelerator and theswinging door for simultaneously opening the latter as the former isactuated, and means for operating said accelerator.

20. In a mail pouch delivering apparatus, a pouch support whollyarranged within a car above the floor thereof and so disposed withrelation to said floor of the car that a pouch in the support will havea natural tendency to gravitate from the support and be dischargedthrough the car door, means carried by the support to normally retainthe pouch therein, and means for actuating the first named means forliberating the pouch to permit same discharging from the support.

21. In a mail pouch delivering apparatus, a pouch support arrangedwholly within a car above the floor thereof and so disposed withrelation to said floor of the car that a pouch in the support will havea natural tendency to gravitate from the support, means arranged withrespect to the support to normally retain the pouch therein, meansoperated from below the floor of the car for actuating the first namedmeans for liberating the pouch to permit same discharging from thesupport, a trip located adjacent the track for operating the last namedmeans, and means embodying an adjustably-mounted pouch-engaging platefor accelerating the movement of the pouch during its dischargemovement.

22. In a mail pouch delivering apparatus, a removably-mounted pouchsupport arranged within a car above the floor thereof and so disposedthat a pouch supported therein will have a natural tendency to dischargefrom the support, means arranged to be engaged by the pouch whereby thelatter is normally restrained from discharge movement, and

means for operating said restraining means whereby the pouch is renderedfree to auto matically discharge itself from the support.

23. In a mail pouch delivering apparatus, a pouch support arrangedwholly within a car above the floor thereof and so disposed that a pouchsupported therein will have a natural tendency to discharge from thesupport, means arranged to be engaged by the pouch whereby the latter.is normally restrained from discharge movement, means arranged foroperation from below the car floor for operating said restraining meanswhereby the pouch is rendered free to automatically discharge itselffrom the support, a track-trip arranged to engage and actuate the lastnamed means, and means for accelerating the movement of the pouch duringits discharge movement.

24. In a mail pouch delivering apparatus, an inclined pouch support, aswinging door carried thereby and acting to normally retain the pouch inthe support, an accelerator arranged to move longitudinally of thesupport in the same plane with respect to the support throughout themovement of the accelerator, connections between the swinging door andthe accelerator, and means for simultaneously operating the door and theaccelerator.

25. In a mail pouch delivering apparatus, an inclined pouch support,means carried by the support for normally retaining the pouch therein,an accelerator movable in a plane parallel With the bottom of thesupport throughout its movement, connections betWeen said means and theaccelerator, and means for simultaneously actuating the pouch retainingmeans and the accelerator.

26. In a mail pouch delivering apparatus, a remoVably-mounted inclinedpouch support, pouch retaining means carried thereby, and an acceleratoralso carried by the support, the support, the retaining means and theaccelerator movable bodily as a unitary structure When removed.

'27. An inclined stationary pouch support arranged to discharge thepouch therefrom, means carried by the support for normally retainingthe'pouch therein, and means movable longitudinally of the support foraccelerating the discharge of the pouch during the discharge movement,the said pouch-accelerating means being connected to the pouch retainingmeans and movable in unison therewithv 28. A stationary pouch supportarranged to discharge the pouch therefrom, pouchretaining means at themouth of the support for normally retaining a pouch therein, meansoperated from below the plane of the car body and movable longitudinallyofthe support for accelerating the discharge of the pouch during thedischarge movement, bar connecting the pouch-retaining means and thepouch-accelerating means whereby they are caused to move in unison, andactuating means connected With said bar.

In testimony whereof I afiiX my signature in the presence of tWoWitnesses.

CHARLES A. WILLIS.

Witnesses IVAN HEIDEMAN, MARY S. HARRINGTON.

